A public debate has intensified in India over the scientific validity of Temple, a wearable device developed by Deepinder Goyal. The device, which is less than one inch wide and weighs under two grams, is designed to be worn on the temple area of the head. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the product has attracted attention from prominent sportspersons, including cricket captain Shubman Gill and badminton player P.V. Sindhu, who have been seen wearing it. The company markets the device at ₹85,000, or approximately $907, and offers it in six different colours.
Promotional materials for the device assert that its BrainFlow feature provides real-time data on blood supply to the brain, while an Entropy feature measures the body's effort to shed heat. The Hindu BusinessLine reports that the device also claims to track various physiological and cognitive metrics. However, several well-known doctors in India have expressed scepticism, arguing that these capabilities are not supported by peer-reviewed research. On social media and prime-time television, these medical professionals have called for the device to be brought under the purview of medical regulators.
Hepatologist Cyriac Philips, known online as “TheLiverDoc”, has criticised the device on his X account, describing it as a potential health scam. Paediatrician Sanjeev Bagai similarly referred to the product as a “gimmick” lacking formal approval. In response, Goyal defended Temple as a “fitness tracker, and wellness device” rather than a medical one. A statement to Reuters noted that BrainFlow and Entropy are new metrics with emerging science, adding that some features would eventually require regulatory approval.
The controversy occurs as wearable manufacturers globally face scrutiny over the distinction between fitness and medical features. The Hindu BusinessLine notes that the US Food and Drug Administration has recently cleared certain Apple Watch features as medical software and warned the company Whoop about its blood-pressure claims. Goyal, who stepped down as chief executive of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato, to focus on Temple, said the company secured $54 million in February when valued near $190 million. Temple claims to have secured orders from over 62 nations since early November, while India’s health ministry has yet to react to the public debate.